News of the Week: Fall Preview, Happy States, and 75 Years of Beetle Bailey

Watch This!

I watch a lot of television but not nearly as much as I used to. I was a TV critic for 25 years, so I used to catch almost everything. Well, not everything, but a lot of shows. Now? There are so many shows, new and old, on broadcast, cable, streaming, and online that it’s impossible to see everything. There are shows that have come and gone that I’ll probably never catch up with, and there are some shows that are now entering their fourth or fifth season, and I’ve never even heard of them before.

But the new fall TV season is about to start! TV Guide has the new shows that are premiering this fall, while Variety has 56 new and returning shows. Both lists have the premiere dates for the shows too. How else would you know when the 700th season of Survivor starts?

Movies are easier to keep track of, simply because there aren’t as many of them as there are TV episodes. They’re less of a commitment. The New York Times has a list of 80 movies to watch this fall and Time has the 46 most anticipated movies of the fall.  And if you’re looking for films with a more literary bent, based on books, Literary Hub has a list of 49 literary movies coming this fall.

The Magnificent Ambersons

The Hollywood Reporter calls The Magnificent Ambersons a “lost movie.” But that’s not true. I’ve seen it on TCM!

But there are 43 missing minutes from the movie that were destroyed years ago, after RKO took over the editing of the film from Welles in 1942 and deleted scenes without his approval. Now, A.I. (of course) is going to be used to recreate those missing scenes and make the movie complete.

I wonder what Welles would think of A.I. It would be one thing if the lost footage were found and they put it back in. But they’re going to recreate scenes with live actors and use special effects for the faces? Eh, I don’t know.

The Sadness of West Virginia

I don’t really believe some of these surveys that rank states by “best” this or “worst” that. Sure, certain things like cost of living or weather can be measured, but “happiness?”

That’s the topic of the latest survey by WalletHub. They rank the states by how happy the people who live there are. Sorry, West Virginia, but you’re dead last.

The happiest state? Apparently, it’s Hawaii, and we can all guess why (besides reruns of Magnum, P.I.).

My state of Massachusetts came in ninth, and Indiana, headquarters of the Post, is 34th. The people I know in Indiana seem happier than that.

75 Years of Beetle Bailey

Did you know that Mort Walker’s Beetle Bailey strip actually has its origins in the Post? Walker did several cartoons for the Post in the late ’40s that include a character named Spider who was the first incarnation of the character.

The comic strip is still going, by the way, done by Walker’s three sons. And there’s a new book out too, titled Mort Walker’s Beetle Bailey: 75 Years of Smiles. CBS has the details.

Uploaded to YouTube by CBS Mornings

Quote of the Week

“We believe that in the near future half the people on the planet will be A.I., and we are the people who are bringing those people to life.”

– the CEO of Inception Point AI, about starting 5000 new podcasts using artificial intelligence

RIP Giorgio Armani, Charlie Kirk, the Duchess of Kent, Polly Holliday, Mark Volman, Rick Davies, Ken Dryden, Davey Johnson, Ruth Paine, and Joseph McNeil

Giorgio Armani was one of the world’s most iconic, influential fashion designers. He died last week at the age of 91.

Charlie Kirk was an influential conservative activist and the founder of Turning Point USA. He died Wednesday at the age of 31.

Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, was the member of the Royal Family who often handed out the trophies at Wimbledon. She died last week at the age of 92.

Polly Holliday was best known for her role as waitress Flo on the sitcom Alice and the spin-off show Flo. She also had regular roles on Home Improvement and The Client, appeared in many films, and received a Tony nomination. She died Tuesday at the age of 88.

Mark Volman was the co-founder of The Turtles and half of Flo & Eddie. He also played with people like Frank Zappa, T-Rex, and Bruce Springsteen. He died last week at the age of 78.

Rick Davies was the co-founder and one of the lead singers of Supertramp, known for such songs as “Give a Little Bit,” “The Logical Song,” “Take the Long Way Home,” “Breakfast in America,” and “Goodbye Stranger.” He died Saturday at the age of 81.

Ken Dryden was a Hall of Fame goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens. He was later a member of Canada’s Parliament. He died last week at the age of 78.

Davey Johnson won two World Series as a second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles and later went on to manage the 1986 World Series-winning New York Mets. He died last week at the age of 82.

Ruth Paine was the woman who rented a room to Lee Harvey Oswald’s wife and daughter. She died last month at the age of 92.

Joseph McNeil was one of the three black men who staged a sit-in at a Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth lunch counter in 1960. He died last week at the age of 83.

This Week in History

Philo Farnsworth Transmits First TV Image (September 7, 1927)

It was the exciting image of … a straight line.

Ford Pardons Nixon (September 8, 1974)

Uploaded to YouTube by Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation

Here’s Post archives director Jeff Nilsson on other presidential pardons.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Zenith Flash-Matic Tuning (September 10, 1955)

“You can also shut off long, annoying commercials.” Boy, if they thought commercials were long and annoying back then…

September Is National Rice Month

The Pioneer Woman has recipes for Sausage and Rice Stuffed Peppers, Wild Rice Pancakes, and a Broccoli Chicken Casserole.

Recipe Tin Eats has this Beef and Rice with Veggies, Food Network has a Curried Chicken and Rice Soup, and Delish has this Louisiana-Style Red Beans & Rice.

Curtis Stone has Hawaiian-Style Poke Rice Bowls, and on a list of vintage pudding recipes you’ll find one for Lemon Rice Pudding.

I’ve never liked rice pudding. I like rice and I like pudding but not together. It’s as appetizing as mashed potato ice cream.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

Bald Is Beautiful Day (September 13)

For me, this is every day (at least I like to think so).

77th Emmy Awards (September 14)

There are actually two Emmy shows. The Creative Arts Emmys were handed out last weekend. Here’s part one of the winners list and here’s part two.

The rest of the statues will be handed out at 8 p.m. on CBS.